The Milwaukee Bucks just pulled off a wild comeback, snagging a 128-126 road win against the Oklahoma City Thunder after being down by a massive 24 points in their second preseason tilt. Myles Turner absolutely went off for Milwaukee, putting up a team-high 19 points in just 22 minutes. But when it came down to crunch time, it was Brayden Burries who stepped up and closed out the game in pure clutch fashion.
Early Jitters and a Scary Moment
Milwaukee actually kicked things off with some serious pace in the first quarter. Jaime Jaquez Jr. drained a couple of threes and dropped eight points in the opening minutes, helping the Bucks jump out to an 18-13 lead. But then, man, the misses started piling up as they kept firing from deep. After a missed three from Herro, OKC hit their own bomb to snatch the lead, and they didn’t look back for the rest of the half. About midway through the first, we got our first look at Kasparas Jakucionis and Ousmane Dieng, who both checked in for their preseason debuts. Dieng wasted no time, hitting a floater in the paint and then finding Jakucionis behind the arc for his first bucket in a Bucks jersey. But Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder were rolling, and they closed the quarter up 44-35.
Then came one of those classic stretches where the Bucks just couldn’t buy a bucket. It wasn’t for lack of effort, but the cohesion just wasn’t there. As Milwaukee went cold, OKC swiftly built a staggering 24-point edge. Instead of folding, though, the Bucks kept the energy high, even if it was a bit chaotic. Dieng dished it to Ament on a backdoor cut for a nasty yam, and Ament seemed totally locked on attacking the rim and making his presence felt in the paint. But then disaster struck: Ament extended at the rim, landed awkwardly, twisted his ankle while drawing the foul, and was promptly taken out of the game. He didn’t return. The Bucks did manage to close out the half decently, with Herro finally getting on the scoreboard and Rollins hitting a sweet teardrop. Still, it was a huge hole, down 82-64 at the half.
The Turnaround and the Clutch Finish
Oklahoma City, much like Minnesota, decided to rest all their starters except Aday Mara for the second half, and Mara still led the Thunder with 22 points on the night. The Bucks, though, kept their starters in a bit longer, and it made all the difference. They started turning the game around, outscoring the Thunder a whopping 33-20 in the third quarter to cut that massive deficit down to just five points by the end of the quarter. The ball started moving so much easier for Milwaukee. As the third carried on, the starting lineup was subbed out entirely, except for Kel’el W.
This Bucks squad clearly has some serious fight, even when things look bleak. A preseason road win like this, especially after clawing back from such a huge hole, says a lot about the character developing in this locker room. You gotta love seeing that grit early on.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Brew Hoop.
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